


All Right Together

by still_lycoris



Category: X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - Fandom
Genre: Aftermath, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Movie(s), Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 01:52:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9213854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/still_lycoris/pseuds/still_lycoris
Summary: Hank has nightmares after the events of Apocalypse and Charles tries to comfort him.





	

At first, the dream was a vaguely normal affair where Hank was trying to teach a lesson that none of the children were listening to. Then he realised that since he was trying to teach them Spanish, it was probably for the best since his Spanish was only rough at best. Better that Jean and Jubilee were building a pyramid at the back but he probably ought to stop them ...

So he walked towards the pyramid which was suddenly getting bigger and bigger, taking up far more space than it should. It was dark and cold and he didn’t want to go inside but it seemed impossible to stop. 

“Hank ... ”

Charles was calling to him. At least, it sounded like Charles. If Charles was there, he probably needed him and Hank couldn’t let him down. Letting Charles down was bad, even though this place was dark and unpleasant and he could hear strange noises, people whispering around him and they were saying something bad, he was sure they were but he couldn’t let Charles be alone so he had to keep walking.

Then suddenly, it was light, light all around and there was Charles except that it wasn’t Charles, it was Apocalypse, Apocalypse in Charles’s body, smiling the smile of someone who had won and Hank would lose his mind, become his slave and everything was lost, lost, lost ...

Apocalypse held out a hand, a cold, blue hand and squeezed. Hank felt the power crawl inside him, felt his vision going black, knew that he dying, knew that it was going to be just like before and he would die and there would be no coming back ...

“ _Hank!_ ”

Hank felt his eyes snap open, felt himself jerk upright, almost head butting Charles, who was bending over him. Luckily, Charles moved back just in time.

“You were crying out,” Charles said quietly.

Hank stared at him, trying to take it in, gasping for breath. It was Charles, really Charles, not someone else. It was dark but if he put the light on, the skin would be pink, the eyes blue. Just because Charles was bald now, just because he smelt a little different and always would, that didn’t mean he wasn’t Charles. And he could breathe and his heart was beating and he was all right, he wasn’t dead, nobody was dead ...

“Nightmare,” he whispered. “Sorry.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Talk about it? How could he talk about it? When Charles still had a gash on his head from where he’d beaten his own head against a table, when Charles still shivered at the memories when he knew for a fact that Charles had been hiding himself in a bathroom every now and then to try and conceal his distress. Hank’s stupid fears were nothing compared to that, nothing, he should just get over it, just deal with it because that was what he was good at.

“Hank.” Charles’s voice was soft. “Let me help you.”

He stroked Hank’s hand gently. His hand was warm and Hank clutched at it, almost without meaning to. Charles lifted himself out of his wheelchair and lay down beside him, pillowing his head gently on Hank’s shoulder the way he usually did when they were safe at home, in the mansion and together.

“I wish we were home too,” Charles said softly, answering the unspoken thought. “But soon, Hank. Soon it’ll be rebuilt and we can go home.”

“And things will go back to normal?” Hank said.

He knew they wouldn’t, not entirely. Oh, they would be fine, they would be all right, they might even be better but they wouldn’t be what they had been before and that was okay but he needed to hear it, even if it was a lie.

“Everything will go back to normal,” Charles promised promptly, rubbing his cheek against Hank’s fur. “Only better because Jean won’t have nightmares that shake the house any more.”

That made Hank laugh and he found himself relaxing, even able to close his eyes again. 

Whatever happened, Charles was still with him. Charles was still there.

They had all survived.

And everything really would be all right.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 12dayschristmas 2016


End file.
